Helter Skelter

"How
we always wanted to play the Beatles,
but you were afraid to hear!"

Berlin Philharmonic Hall - Feb.2007 Photos : jazzimage.de

Far removed
from any thoughts of over-used and much-abused revival-projects,
an idea germinated in Chemnitz and Berlin; combine the unique music
of the Beatles with contemporary improvised music.The songs'
inspired melody lines are the perfect foundation on which to build
this new music project. It is an amazing thing for Beatles songs
to burst forth on-stage. Clear melodies and crisp improvisations
intertwine.
The Beatles would have been even more successful when they had had
Joe Sachse as guitarist. He is playing here at the peak of his form,
on the edge of his outer limits ...

Helmut "Joe"
Sachse
One of the most original and intriguing guitarists in jazz. Studied
at the Franz Liszt College of Music (Weimar, Germany). Solo concerts
throughout Europe. Three solo albums. Has worked and recorded with,
among others Conrad Bauer, Peter Brötzmann, Jack Bruce, George Lewis,
John Marshall, Charlie Mariano, E. L. Petrowsky, Baby Sommer ...

We can celebrate
this music sitting comfortably in our living rooms listening on
our high-end stereo sets,
as Ernst Bier slams the beat home like some rock drummer, and Sachse
incites his guitar to clatter, rattle, and screech, even when a
song like "My Guitar Gently Weeps" seems to call for exactly the
opposite. Sometimes Joe Sachse blows on the flute while he beats
on parts of the guitar's body. Respectfully dismantle and then re-assemble
the music, and then sell the guitar teacher as the punch-line -
ever since he played "Round About Mittweida", this has been Sachse's
understanding of jazz.
But those who know Bier and Sachse can imagine Ernst Bier grinning
behind the drum set as Joe Sachse, with his impressive eyebrows,
winks at jazz history. Between us, jazz is occasionally strange,
childish, and, in a lovely way, peculiarly folksy DIE WELT

Smooth, tender
sounds, humor, and a rustic resonance
Guitarist Joe Sachse's and drummer Ernst Bier's live-recorded homage
"Helter Skelter - Beatles Forever" is a recent release. The musical
ideas of the lads from Liverpool have in the meantime taken on a
folk-like aura. The way the duo grabs hold of theses ideas is refreshing:
they transform the pieces into scarcely recognizable jazz gems -
gems that never go against the grain of the originals. Listen, for
instance, to "Within You Without You" and the way they dig out the
drama that the Beatles had buried under a series of catchy riffs. Freie Presse/Chemnitz